Alexis Kestler
What Is an Influencer Giveaway?
An influencer giveaway is a promotional campaign in which an Instagram influencer, or an individual with a significant following on social media, collaborates with a brand or company to give away a prize to their followers. The purpose of giveaways is to increase brand exposure and engagement, as well as to reward and engage the influencer‘s followers.
The influencer typically promotes the giveaway on their social media channels and encourages their followers to participate by performing a specific action, such as liking a post, following a brand‘s social media account, or tagging friends in a comment. The winner of the giveaway is then selected randomly or through specified criteria set by the influencer and the brand.
Why Run an Influencer Giveaway?
There are several key benefits to running an influencer giveaway:
- Increased brand awareness – Giveaways expose your brand to the influencer‘s engaged following.
- More engagement – Encouraging social actions like likes and shares increases overall engagement.
- Lead generation – Many giveaways require opting-in via email or other contact details to enter.
- High ROI – Compared to traditional ads, influencer giveaways can offer much higher returns given the audiences they provide access to.
- Virality – Followers are likely to share and discuss an interesting or valuable giveaway.
14 Influencer Giveaway Idea Examples
Let‘s explore some of the most popular and effective influencer giveaway ideas:
1. Like a Post
Ask followers to like a specific Instagram post for a chance to win. Likes are simple to execute and track.
2. Comment on a Post
This drives more comments and social interaction. You can also easily pick winners from comments using online giveaway tools.
3. Tag Other Accounts
Increasing social sharing and reach. Great for giveaways aimed at user-generated content or referrals.
4. Repost on Stories
Leverages the viral potential of Instagram stories. Provides wider exposure for both influencer and brand.
5. Save a Post
Saves indicate valuable/useful content to Instagram. Drives up content quality signals. Easy for users to participate.
6. Write a Custom Caption
Encourages follower creativity and personal connections with the brand. Surfaces potential user-generated content.
7. Use a Brand Hashtag
Increases reach via hashtag, makes giveaway details easy to find. Useful for tracking user-generated content.
8. Complete a Challenge
Challenges like posting a photo showcasing the product make giveaways more engaging.
9. Add Link to Bio
Drives traffic to brand site/products. Works well for affiliate or influencer codes.
10. Download an App
Boosts app downloads. Easy call-to-action for users.
11. Write a Review
Gathers useful consumer feedback while increasing word-of-mouth exposure.
12. Participate in Trivia
Interactive and educational approach. Can integrate branded trivia questions.
13. Support a Follower Milestone
Creates community excitement. Rewards top fans and advocates.
14. Celebrate a Seasonal Event or Holiday
Timely, festive themes capture interest.
Top 15 Brand/Influencer Giveaway Examples
Now let‘s examine some real-world influencer and brand giveaway examples that drove great results:
1. Huda Beauty‘s New Product Launch Giveaway
To promote their new eyeliner, Huda Beauty collaborated with Lilly Ghalichi to give away the product to Lilly‘s followers. This generated buzz while allowing Huda to reach Lilly’s highly engaged audience.
2. Texas Tourism Board Photo Contest
The official Texas Tourism Instagram account offered cash and prizes for users to submit photos capturing the natural beauty of the state‘s forests and trails. This encouraged user-generated content and brand engagement.
3. Mom Blogger Partnership Giveaway
Lifestyle blogger Joceline Raad partnered with a holiday gift brand to give away their products. As a mom blogger, Joceline shared great synergy with the brand plus a relevant audience.
4. Instagram Food Influencer Product Giveaway
Atlanta-based travel and food influencer Alyssa Fagin frequently hosts giveaways for her followers, like this gelato brand collaboration. Followers love food freebies!
5. Retail Instagram Giveaway with Sports Brand
Tilly‘s ran a campaign with Adidas giving users a chance to win a $100 gift card. Followers gained an incentive to engage with both sport and retail accounts.
6. Beauty Box Subscription Giveaway
Birchbox offered followers early access to their new product line by entering to win an exclusive beauty box. This converted aware fans into active subscribers.
7. Skincare Brand Instagram Collaboration
Korean beauty brand Krave partnered up with acne patch company ZitSticka, cross-promoting their products and gifting skincare bundles to select users. Both saw engagement and awareness boosts.
8. Sustainable Activewear Giveaway
Eco-conscious brand Girlfriend Collective tapped into their mission of sustainability by collaborating with like-minded brands on an environmentally friendly giveaway.
9. Disney Collectibles Brand Giveaway
Loungefly makes popular bags and accessories themed after Disney characters. An influencer collaboration giveaway scored high engagement from Disney fans.
10. Domino‘s "Free Pizza for a Year" Facebook Giveaway
Domino’s ran a successful Facebook giveaway offering a year’s supply of free pizza as the prize. This resulted in lots of entries and shares, plus long-term sales potential.
11. Lay’s National Potato Chip Day Giveaway
In honor of National Potato Chip Day, Lay’s boosted engagement by having followers post images with Lay’s chips on social media for a chance to win bags of chips.
12. Health and Wellness Brand Bundle Giveaway
BlendJet and Kiehl’s offered fans a wellness pack of their new products. Followers liked the complementary nature of blending health items from both brands.
13. Skincare Brands Product Bundle Giveaway
Krave and ZitSticka combined their skincare products for a giveaway. Showcasing complementary products benefited awareness for both.
14. Beauty Influencer Promoting Makeup Brand
A cosmetics influencer created video content about a Two Faced mascara she enjoyed. In turn, Two Faced rewarded subscribers with the viral mascara.
15. Sustainable Activewear Earth Month Giveaway
For Earth Month, eco-friendly brand Girlfriend Collective gave away a sustainable activewear prize pack in partnership with brands that shared their values.
Tips for Running a Successful Influencer Giveaway
If you want to run your own profitable influencer giveaway, keep these tips in mind:
- Partner with influencers who genuinely love your product or brand.
- Make sure your campaign guidelines provide clear objectives and expectations.
- Keep the entry process simple while encouraging social sharing.
- Promote the giveaway through multiple channels.
- Track entries and engagement rates to optimize mid-campaign.
- Select winners fairly and publicly to build trust.
- Share contest winner announcements across social media.
The Takeaway
Influencer giveaways continue to provide stellar ROI compared to traditional advertising when executed strategically. As you craft your next influencer partnership or campaign, keep these examples and tips in mind.
And remember to track performance so you can continually refine your approach and maximize results!
